Eight in Different Languages
Discover 'Eight' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The number eight is often associated with luck and prosperity in many cultures around the world. In Chinese culture, the word for eight, 'بارها' (ba) sounds similar to the word that means 'prosper' or 'wealth' (發/fā). Because of this, the number eight is considered very lucky and is often used in important events, such as weddings and business deals. In Japan, the number eight is also considered lucky, and is often associated with the concept of 'happiness' (幸/sachi).
Given its significance in various cultures, it's no wonder that someone might want to know the translation of the number eight in different languages. For example, in Spanish, the number eight is 'ocho' (очо), while in French, it is 'huit' (уит). In German, the number eight is 'acht' (ахт), and in Russian, it is 'восемь' (vosem').
Understanding the translation of the number eight in different languages can help deepen your appreciation for the cultural significance of this number, and can also come in handy in various situations, such as when traveling or doing business in a foreign country.
Eight
Eight in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | agt | ||
| Afrikaans "agt" comes from Old Dutch "achte" and Middle Low German "achte", meaning "beyond seven" | |||
| Amharic | ስምት | ||
| The Amharic word "ስምት" also means "an octave" in music, as it was believed the ancient scale had eight notes. | |||
| Hausa | takwas | ||
| Hausa 'takwas' originated from Arabic 'tamāniya' and is also a unit of currency roughly equal to a US dollar. | |||
| Igbo | asatọ | ||
| The word 'asatọ' in Igbo can also be used to refer to a group of eight people. | |||
| Malagasy | valo | ||
| The word "valo" is a doublet, originating from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *walu and from the Proto-Austronesian *walu (meaning "eight"). | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | eyiti | ||
| The word "eyiti" can also refer to a section of a traditional Nyanja (Chichewa) village, typically consisting of eight households. | |||
| Shona | sere | ||
| The word "sere" in Shona can also refer to a type of grass or a period of time | |||
| Somali | sideed | ||
| The term "sideed" may also refer to a specific time of day, around dusk or dawn. | |||
| Sesotho | robeli | ||
| Robeli is also used to refer to the eighth day of a month, the period of eight days in a lunar cycle, and the number of days in a week. | |||
| Swahili | nane | ||
| In Kiswahili, the word "nane" also means "many" or "much". | |||
| Xhosa | sibhozo | ||
| The Xhosa word "Sibhozo" not only means "eight" but also denotes a group of eight people or things. | |||
| Yoruba | mẹjọ | ||
| Although the Yoruba number "mẹjọ" most directly translates to "eight", the ordinal form of the term can be translated as both "eighth" or "fourteenth." | |||
| Zulu | eziyisishiyagalombili | ||
| The word "eziyisishiyagalombili" also means "eight" or "octad" in Zulu. | |||
| Bambara | segin | ||
| Ewe | enyi | ||
| Kinyarwanda | umunani | ||
| Lingala | mwambe | ||
| Luganda | munaana | ||
| Sepedi | seswai | ||
| Twi (Akan) | nwɔtwe | ||
Eight in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | ثمانية | ||
| The Arabic word "ثمانیة" (eight) shares a root with the word "ثمن" (eighth). | |||
| Hebrew | שמונה | ||
| שמונה also means "fat" in Aramaic, and shares a connection to "abundance." | |||
| Pashto | اته | ||
| "اته" is also used in Pashto to denote "this much" or "up to eight". | |||
| Arabic | ثمانية | ||
| The Arabic word "ثمانیة" (eight) shares a root with the word "ثمن" (eighth). | |||
Eight in Western European Languages
| Albanian | tetë | ||
| "tetë" (eight) may also refer to the eighth day of a month | |||
| Basque | zortzi | ||
| Zortzi shares a common root with | |||
| Catalan | vuit | ||
| "Vuit" comes from the Latin "octo", which also means eight. | |||
| Croatian | osam | ||
| Osam is also Croatian for "very good," from the Ottoman Turkish "çok güzel," "very beautiful." | |||
| Danish | otte | ||
| The Danish word "otte" (eight) originates from the Proto-Germanic word *ahtau which also meant "plenty, abundance". | |||
| Dutch | acht | ||
| The Dutch word "acht" is cognate with the German word "acht" and the English word "eight". | |||
| English | eight | ||
| The word "eight" shares an etymological root with the Latin "octo" and the Greek "ὀκτώ" (oktṓ), meaning "eight". | |||
| French | huit | ||
| "Huit" is an old French word meaning "night" or "dark". It is related to the Latin word "nox" meaning "night". | |||
| Frisian | acht | ||
| The word "acht" in Frisian comes from Proto-West Germanic *ehto, meaning "possession". | |||
| Galician | oito | ||
| "Oito" also means "eight" in Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, and Spanish. | |||
| German | acht | ||
| In Middle High German, the word "acht" could also mean "proscription, banishment". | |||
| Icelandic | átta | ||
| Despite its resemblance to the German "acht", "átta" is not related and instead comes from Proto-Germanic *ahtō, whose cognates include Dutch "acht" and Swedish "åtta". | |||
| Irish | ocht | ||
| "Ocht" has possible origins in Proto-Indo-European "*h₃eḱtōw" meaning "eight" or "*oḱtō" meaning "eight". | |||
| Italian | otto | ||
| Otto can also refer to a small piece of furniture used to rest your feet | |||
| Luxembourgish | aacht | ||
| "Aacht" in Luxembourgish also refers to a figure-eight shape or a symbol representing infinity. | |||
| Maltese | tmienja | ||
| The Maltese word "tmienja" is derived from the Arabic word "ثمانية" (thamanīyah), meaning "eight", and is cognate with the Spanish word "ocho" and the Portuguese word "oito." | |||
| Norwegian | åtte | ||
| Åtte is cognate with words like 'acht' in German and 'octa-' in Latin, derived from the Proto-Indo-European word for 'eight', '*h₃eḱt̥'. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | oito | ||
| Oito is also used in Portuguese to refer to the eighth musical note in a diatonic scale. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | ochd | ||
| Ochd also means "eighth" as in a musical octave or the eighth hour. | |||
| Spanish | ocho | ||
| The word "ocho" in Spanish is often used colloquially to refer to the number "eight" in a playful or affectionate way. | |||
| Swedish | åtta | ||
| The Swedish word "åtta" also means "very much" and is related to the English word "eight". | |||
| Welsh | wyth | ||
| "Wyth" in Welsh means "eight", and is also a homonym of the Welsh word for "wood" or "sapling". | |||
Eight in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | восем | ||
| The word "восем" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *osьmь, which also means "eighth". | |||
| Bosnian | osam | ||
| The word "osam" also means "sweet" in some contexts. | |||
| Bulgarian | осем | ||
| The word "осем" can also refer to a set of 8 symbols in Bulgarian numerology and divination. | |||
| Czech | osm | ||
| The word "osm" also means "axis" in Czech, as well as being used in the phrase "na osu", meaning "on axis". | |||
| Estonian | kaheksa | ||
| The word "kaheksa" in Estonian is thought to be derived from the Proto-Finnic word "kahtekxa", meaning "eight-legged" (referring to a spider). | |||
| Finnish | kahdeksan | ||
| The word "kahdeksan" may derive from the Proto-Uralic word *kaktek, meaning "four and four", suggesting that the base-ten system was adopted later. | |||
| Hungarian | nyolc | ||
| The Hungarian word "nyolc" also exists in Finnish (with different meaning and pronunciation) and is cognate with the Russian "восемь" and other Balto-Slavic words for "eight." | |||
| Latvian | astoņi | ||
| In Latvian, the word "astoņi" is also used as an archaic term for "nine" or "ten". | |||
| Lithuanian | aštuoni | ||
| The Lithuanian word "aštuoni" (eight) is derived from the Proto-Indo-European word "*aḱtṓu" meaning "eight". It is also related to the Latin word "octo" and the Greek word "ὀκτώ". | |||
| Macedonian | осум | ||
| In old Church Slavonic and Proto-Slavic, "осум" means "moustache". | |||
| Polish | osiem | ||
| The word "osiem" also has an archaic meaning of "two", as in "osimnaście" (eighteen). | |||
| Romanian | opt | ||
| The Romanian word "opt" is derived from the Latin "octo", meaning "eight", and is also sometimes used as a slang term for "plenty" or "a lot". | |||
| Russian | 8 | ||
| "Восьмерка" на сленге означает человека, который находится в состоянии сильного алкогольного опьянения. | |||
| Serbian | осам | ||
| The word "осам" can also refer to the number 8 in card games, and the term "осамка" can mean a figure eight knot or a butterfly stroke in swimming. | |||
| Slovak | osem | ||
| "Osem" can also mean "fate" or "destiny" in Slovak. | |||
| Slovenian | osem | ||
| Derived from Proto-Slavic and Proto-Indo-European *oktṓu, which is possibly of Albanian or Basque origin. | |||
| Ukrainian | вісім | ||
| In Ukrainian, 'вісім' is derived from Proto-Slavic 'osĭmъ', and has the same root as 'один' (one), 'два' (two) and 'п'ять' (five). | |||
Eight in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | আট | ||
| The numeral "আট" (eight) in Bengali likely originated from the Sanskrit word "aṣṭa" or Dravidian languages. | |||
| Gujarati | આઠ | ||
| The Gujarati word "આઠ" also means "eight" in Hindi, Marathi, and Sanskrit. | |||
| Hindi | आठ | ||
| "आठ" (oath) likely stems from the Proto-Indo-European word ("okto/oxtou"). | |||
| Kannada | ಎಂಟು | ||
| The word "ಎಂಟು" is used in some contexts to refer to something which has been repeated seven times. | |||
| Malayalam | എട്ട് | ||
| The name "എട്ട്" (eṭṭ) is derived from the Dravidian word *eṭṭu, which also means "to be elevated" | |||
| Marathi | आठ | ||
| Its alternate meaning is "very much". | |||
| Nepali | आठ | ||
| The word "आठ" (eight) derives from Sanskrit and also refers to the eighth day of a lunar fortnight or the eighth month of the Hindu calendar. | |||
| Punjabi | ਅੱਠ | ||
| The word 'ਅੱਠ' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'अष्ट' (aṣṭa), which also means 'eight'. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අට | ||
| "අට" (eight) is a cognate of the Sanskrit word "अष्ट" (aṣṭa) and can also mean "a collection of eight items" or "a period of eight days" in Sinhala. | |||
| Tamil | எட்டு | ||
| எட்டு may also be used to mean "multitude". | |||
| Telugu | ఎనిమిది | ||
| ఎనిమిది comes from the word "ఎనుము" which means "to increase" and "-డి" which means "ten". Therefore it means "two less than ten." | |||
| Urdu | آٹھ | ||
| The word آٹھ can be traced back to the Prakrit word अट्ठ (aṭṭha), which is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *oḱtṓw, meaning "eight". | |||
Eight in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 八 | ||
| The character "八" also means "separate" and is a component of the character "別" (separate). | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 八 | ||
| The character 「八」 can symbolize "stability" or "abundance" in Chinese due to its visual resemblance to the ancient oracle bone script depicting two joined halves. | |||
| Japanese | 8 | ||
| The character for "8" in Japanese can also mean "a lot" or "many". | |||
| Korean | 여덟 | ||
| In some dialects, 여덟 (yeodeol) can also mean "nine". | |||
| Mongolian | найм | ||
| "Найм" is also used to refer to the direction "east" in Mongolian. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ရှစ် | ||
Eight in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | delapan | ||
| The word 'delapan' comes from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *walu, and is also used in Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese. | |||
| Javanese | wolu | ||
| "Wolu" in Javanese, derived from the Sanskrit "ashta," also denotes a group or set of eight. | |||
| Khmer | ប្រាំបី | ||
| Lao | ແປດ | ||
| The Lao word "ແປດ" can also mean "to divide into eight parts". | |||
| Malay | lapan | ||
| The word "lapan" in Malay also means "eight" in several other Austronesian languages, such as Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese. | |||
| Thai | แปด | ||
| แปด is also used as the name of a type of small boat, a sail, a measure of distance, or a kind of musical instrument. | |||
| Vietnamese | tám | ||
| Tám comes from the Sino-Vietnamese word 八 (bát), but is also an address for older women in northern Vietnam similar to “Miss” or “Mrs”. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | walo | ||
Eight in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | səkkiz | ||
| In Azerbaijani, | |||
| Kazakh | сегіз | ||
| The Kazakh word "сегіз" ("eight") comes from the Proto-Turkic word *segiz, meaning "twice four". | |||
| Kyrgyz | сегиз | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "сегиз" also means "the Milky Way". | |||
| Tajik | ҳашт | ||
| The word "ҳашт" in Tajik is derived from the Proto-Indo-Iranian word "aštā", which also means "eight" in other Indo-European languages such as Sanskrit and Persian. | |||
| Turkmen | sekiz | ||
| Uzbek | sakkiz | ||
| The word "sakkiz" can also mean "gum" or "sweets" in Uzbek, derived from the Persian word "sakht" meaning "hard" or "solid". | |||
| Uyghur | سەككىز | ||
Eight in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ewalu | ||
| The Hawaiian word "ewalu" for "eight" is related to the word "wā" meaning "split" or "divided". | |||
| Maori | waru | ||
| "Waru" also refers to the number of stars in the Matariki star cluster and the number of people in a waka (canoe) crew. | |||
| Samoan | valu | ||
| valu can also mean a group of eight, a cluster of bananas, an eight-legged centipede, or the eighth part of anything | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | walong | ||
| The word "walong" in Tagalog is sometimes used to refer to the "eighth" month of pregnancy or the "eighth" day of a nine-day novena. | |||
Eight in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | kimsaqallqu | ||
| Guarani | poapy | ||
Eight in International Languages
| Esperanto | ok | ||
| In Esperanto, "ok" shares an origin with the English word "okay" and connotes approval, but does not mean "eight". | |||
| Latin | octo | ||
| "Octo" derives from Proto-Indo-European "*h₁oḱtṓw" and is related to Greek " októō" and Sanskrit " aṣṭá." | |||
Eight in Others Languages
| Greek | οκτώ | ||
| The word "οκτώ" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁eḱtṓ, meaning "boundary". | |||
| Hmong | yim | ||
| "Yim" in Hmong can also refer to an "elder brother" or "father's younger brother". | |||
| Kurdish | heşt | ||
| The word "heşt" may also be used as an adjective or a verb in Kurdish, meaning "eighth" or "to cut into eight parts," respectively. | |||
| Turkish | sekiz | ||
| The Turkish word 'sekiz' (eight) may derive from Old Turkic root 'sek' or Proto-Mongolic root 'jaki'. | |||
| Xhosa | sibhozo | ||
| The Xhosa word "Sibhozo" not only means "eight" but also denotes a group of eight people or things. | |||
| Yiddish | אַכט | ||
| Yiddish word אַכט ('eight') derives from Middle High German 'ahte,' Old High German 'ahto,' or Gothic 'ahtau,' and cognates are found in most Germanic languages, ultimately tracing back to Proto-Indo-European '*h₁oktṓw' ('eight'). | |||
| Zulu | eziyisishiyagalombili | ||
| The word "eziyisishiyagalombili" also means "eight" or "octad" in Zulu. | |||
| Assamese | আঠ | ||
| Aymara | kimsaqallqu | ||
| Bhojpuri | आठ | ||
| Dhivehi | އަށެއް | ||
| Dogri | अट्ठ | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | walo | ||
| Guarani | poapy | ||
| Ilocano | walo | ||
| Krio | et | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | هەشت | ||
| Maithili | आठि | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯅꯤꯄꯥꯜ | ||
| Mizo | pariat | ||
| Oromo | saddeet | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଆଠ | ||
| Quechua | qanchis | ||
| Sanskrit | अष्ट | ||
| Tatar | сигез | ||
| Tigrinya | ሸሞንተ | ||
| Tsonga | nhungu | ||